CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM The head floral designer at Fujikami Florist, Jeanne Pelowski, has a little fun during a break at work. She joined the company about a year ago and along with another designer each day creates dozens of floral arrangements for virtually every occasion.

Flower power

Floral designer Jeanne Pelowski
turned a summer job into a career

JEANNE Pelowski is head designer of floral arrangements at Fujikami Florist in Makiki, which she joined about a year ago, originally in sales. She joined the company after 12 years of working for an upscale flower shop in Seattle, where she had never intended to stay for quite that long.

Who: Jeanne Pelowski Title: Head designer, Fujikami Florist Job: Design and assemble floral arrangements

Now back in Hawaii and living once again with her parents in Kailua, the 36-year-old Kalaheo High School graduate helps company owner Stephen Fujikami and his sister Amy Fujikami-Shikuzawa create and supply flower arrangements to customers throughout Oahu for virtually every occasion.

Question: How did you learn to become a floral designer?

Answer: By just working in the various shops I've worked for.

I started at the Picket Fence in Kailua when I was 16. It was a high school job, pretty much during the summer, and I loved it. I was pretty much the gopher, but slowly I started learning to design in my free time. I loved it and found I had a knack for it, and I kept going. The owner there (Sadie Akamine) was very willing to pay for any courses being taught by visiting designers to help you keep current with what the styles are.

Q: Are there other designers at Fujikami Florist?

A: Yes. At this time there are only two of us -- Ruth Paglinawan and myself. But when you say head designer, that refers to me working with the owner, discussing the specials that we may run for a holiday or what products to bring in.

Q: What seems to be the most popular design right now?

A: Typically out of Fujikami's it would be your high-style Oriental flower arrangement.

Q: What would that be like?

A: Typically it will have bamboo in it. It would be simple design, really showcasing each individual flower. And it would be set in a low, flat container, where you put it in the floral foam -- called oasis -- instead of the clear vase.

Q: Are the popularity of the designs seasonal?

A: The high-style Oriental design is pretty much the bread and butter here. That's the main style that people want from Fujikami Florist.

Then you have the European-style vase arrangements, which are very lush and full. They typically have tulips, roses, orchids.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM The head floral designer at Fujikami Florist, Jeanne Pelowski, has a little fun during a break at work. She joined the company about a year ago and along with another designer each day creates dozens of floral arrangements for virtually every occasion.

Q: How hard is it to find all the flowers and plant cuttings that you need?

A: It's actually not too bad. Steven's been doing it for years and years. We've got great connections. We get roses from South America, other flowers from the mainland.

Q: What about local flowers ?

A: A ton of local flowers -- tropical flowers from Waimanalo, sunflowers from Waianae.

Q: Do you prefer working with cut flowers or live plants that will continue to grow?

A: We do both. I prefer myself, being a designer, the fresh cut flowers. But today we did get in a bunch of orchid plants and such, but that's just basically putting a plant in a container. There's not much design to it.

A: How many floral arrangements do you make a day?

Q: Well, today we just got a phone call for an order of 35 thank-you arrangements, on top of the ones we usually we do every day.

A: Thank-you arrangements?

Q: Yes, that's a high-style Oriental arrangement with protea, going all to gentlemen.

Q: What other kinds of arrangements are there?

A: Some days there are several funerals, some days several babies. The other day we did about 14 baby-girl arrangements. Then the cruise ship comes in and we do about 70 arrangements for them.

A: What about for people who are sick?

Q: Get-wells, a standard day you're looking at around 50 or so.

Q: What about the future? Are things going pretty well for you there?

A: It's going wonderful here. We just had a great holiday season. New Year's was a new experience me, in that I hadn't done kodomatsu, with the bamboo and the winter pine. I hadn't done that before.

A: Who taught you about that?

Q: Everyone here at Fujikmami's. (Laughter)